I think where Walt "really lives" is his pride about having become a self-made drug kingpin. Remember when Hank thought Gale Boetticher was "Heisenberg"? Walt was incensed by the idea of anyone else getting credit for the empire he built. Had he left well enough alone, he probably never becomes a person of interest in this case.

Walt's hubris over his empire has gotten in the way of walking away unscathed at least twice over the course of the series.

Ya think?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Micjones

Could Jesse try to take credit for everything and claim to be Heisenberg?

I'm still rooting for Walt. Call me crazy, but I STILL don't see him as this purely evil monster that everyone makes him out to be.

He could've put a bullet in Pinkman's head at the first sign of trouble. He hasn't done that. I want people to stop pretending he's openly hurt people he cares about.

You're not judged by how you treat the people you care about. It doesn't take a saint to refrain from killing the people you like.

Walt is an evil sociopathic bastard who doesn't hesitate to kill anybody who crosses his path. He was perfectly fine with Todd killing the kid on the motorbike. He was perfectly fine with poisoning Brock. He was perfectly fine with watching Jesse's girlfriend die right in front of him when he could have easily saved her. He was perfectly fine with ordering Jesse to kill Gail, a guy who admired Walt and desperately sought his approval.

Saying people root for Walt because they root for the antihero is reductive. All audiences have a bias towards the protagonist. Whether it's Humbert Humbert, Patrick Bateman, Tony Montana, or Walter White, the protagonist is a far more sympathetic figure because the audience sees the story from their perspective, which creates empathy and attachment.

Had we been told the story of Gustavo Fring, the entire viewership would have lauded him killing Walt.

__________________
"When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln

You're not judged by how you treat the people you care about. It doesn't take a saint to refrain from killing the people you like.

Walt is an evil sociopathic bastard who doesn't hesitate to kill anybody who crosses his path. He was perfectly fine with Todd killing the kid on the motorbike. He was perfectly fine with poisoning Brock. He was perfectly fine with watching Jesse's girlfriend die right in front of him when he could have easily saved her. He was perfectly fine with ordering Jesse to kill Gail, a guy who admired Walt and desperately sought his approval.

I don't see how anybody can say he is NOT a purely evil monster.

It really pissed me off when Walt let Jesse's girlfriend die. She was really hot.

I'm still rooting for Walt. Call me crazy, but I STILL don't see him as this purely evil monster that everyone makes him out to be.

He could've put a bullet in Pinkman's head at the first sign of trouble. He hasn't done that. I want people to stop pretending he's openly hurt people he cares about.

I'm kind of with you. Maybe not "rooting for" exactly but there's just something about him that I don't see him all evil. I can remember thinking Tony Soprano was a dick who deserved to be whacked. Walt just somehow seems a little different.

You're not judged by how you treat the people you care about. It doesn't take a saint to refrain from killing the people you like.

Walt is an evil sociopathic bastard who doesn't hesitate to kill anybody who crosses his path. He was perfectly fine with Todd killing the kid on the motorbike. He was perfectly fine with poisoning Brock. He was perfectly fine with watching Jesse's girlfriend die right in front of him when he could have easily saved her. He was perfectly fine with ordering Jesse to kill Gail, a guy who admired Walt and desperately sought his approval.

I don't see how anybody can say he is NOT a purely evil monster.

Just to play devil's advocate--

I don't think he was fine with Todd killing the kid, but once done, it's done. Not exactly like there was anything he could do about it.

I don't think he intended to kill Brock and poisoned him with something deadly but treatable. If he really wanted him dead, he could of used the ricin.

In a way, letting Jesse's girlfriend die was saving Jesse. I saw his lack of action there as not so much not caring about her, but wanting to get Jesse away from the junkies that would end up killing him.

Gail was purely self-preservation. Walt would have been dead. The gun was literally pointed at his head.

I don't think he was fine with Todd killing the kid, but once done, it's done. Not exactly like there was anything he could do about it.

I don't think he intended to kill Brock and poisoned him with something deadly but treatable. If he really wanted him dead, he could of used the ricin.

In a way, letting Jesse's girlfriend die was saving Jesse. I saw his lack of action there as not so much not caring about her, but wanting to get Jesse away from the junkies that would end up killing him.

Gail was purely self-preservation. Walt would have been dead. The gun was literally pointed at his head.

Just playing devil's advocate--

All good points. The difference between Walt and Jesse is that Walt is without much remorse. He had some regret over what happened to Jane (Fly) and Krazy 8, but he's always found a way to justify the means. And as the ends have become more and more vicious, it requires an increasingly vicious bastard to accept them without remorse.

__________________
"When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln

While I was hoping for Czech commandos to rappel down the side of the hotel, breach their room, and empty a clip from a P90 into her.

__________________
"When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln

I don't think he was fine with Todd killing the kid, but once done, it's done. Not exactly like there was anything he could do about it.

I don't think he intended to kill Brock and poisoned him with something deadly but treatable. If he really wanted him dead, he could of used the ricin.

In a way, letting Jesse's girlfriend die was saving Jesse. I saw his lack of action there as not so much not caring about her, but wanting to get Jesse away from the junkies that would end up killing him.

Gail was purely self-preservation. Walt would have been dead. The gun was literally pointed at his head.

Just playing devil's advocate--

Jane was clean when she met Jesse. He's the one that got her back into drugs.

Walt let Jane die because he needed Jesse, and didn't want her being a distraction. Just more Walt manipulation.

Same with Brock... That also, was about controlling Jesse.

Now... He knows. (about one of those things, anyway) And he's completely out of Walt's control.

All good points. The difference between Walt and Jesse is that Walt is without much remorse. He had some regret over what happened to Jane (Fly) and Krazy 8, but he's always found a way to justify the means. And as the ends have become more and more vicious, it requires an increasingly vicious bastard to accept them without remorse.

That's true. At the risk of over-analyzing a fictional character--I kind of thought his lack of remorse/indifference had a lot to do with his own prognosis. He has advanced-stage cancer, only expected to live a couple years. So, life ain't fair and shit happens.

But one thing that always bugged me about Jesse is that he appears to have this moral streak in him, but had no problem providing meth to people--one of the most addictive and destructive drugs out there. He even went to "AA" meetings to find customers.